DeForest Jackson Kelley was born in Atlanta Georgia, January 20, 1920. Mr. Kelley always wanted to be a doctor, just like his uncle, who delivered him, but when the Depression hit, his family did not have the money for him to go to medical school. His participation in his church choir eventually led to singing engagements on the radio and at the Atlanta Paramount Theater with the Lew Forbes Orchestra. When Mr.Kelley turned 17, he went to Long Beach, California to stay with his uncle for two weeks. Finding it difficult to leave, two weeks became one year. Mr. Kelley then returned to Georgia, but found it impossible to remain and so he went back to California permanently. Mr. Kelley returned to Long Beach and joined a local theater group. Another member of the theater group at the time was Carolyn Dowling, who would become Mrs. Kelley in 1945 (53 years). A Paramount talent scout spotted Kelley in a Navy training film during World War II, which resulted in a screen test and a studio contract. Mr.Kelley stayed with Paramount for two-and-a-half years, and while there he starred in his first feature film "Fear In The Night". After a stint working in stock companies and television in New York, Mr. Kelley returned to the West Coast to continue his acting career. He was often cast as a "bad guy" in westerns such as The Gunfight at OK Corral, Raintree County and Warlock. He also appeared on TV programs such as Playhouse 90, Gunsmoke , Bonanza as well as numerous TV pilots.

DeForest appeared on Gene Roddenberry's mid-1970s LP Inside Star Trek on which he is interviewed by Gene.DeForest received a Star on the Walk of Fame, it's located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.In 1990, DeForest was nominated for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).In 1999, Deforest received an In Memoriam Award.DeForest told close friends that he always felt more comfortable in westerns then he did in science fiction.Of the four main Star Trek (1966) cast members (the others being William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan), he is the only one who never appeared in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964).The Enterprise (2001) character, Admiral Maxwell Forrest played by Vaughn Armstrong, is named after DeForest.DeForest was the only original Star Trek (1966) cast member never to write an autobiography.DeForest played one of the Earp brothers in the film Gunfight At OK Corral and faced the Earps in an episode of Star Trek.Shortly before DeForest's death, he won the "Golden Cowboy Boot" award. In honor of his earlier work in westerns.More Trivia